We must keep on making progress

WALES, savouring the moment after breaking their Lloyds TSB Six Nations duck with a 44-20 victory over Italy, know they will have to move up several gears to drive forward their resurgence under new coach Steve Hansen.

WALES, savouring the moment after breaking their Lloyds TSB Six Nations duck with a 44-20 victory over Italy, know they will have to move up several gears to drive forward their resurgence under new coach Steve Hansen.

England, thirsting to wipe out the bitter memory of defeat by France and the loss of another Grand Slam, who they face at Twickenham a fortnight on Saturday will be a far different proposition from Italy, demoralised by 11 successive Six Nations defeats and, by most accounts, ripped apart by internal conflict.

An unthinkable defeat at the Millennium Stadium would have plunged Wales into an even deeper crisis than the team they beat but they shrugged off the pressure, took the game to Italy and scored five quality tries.

Hansen is under no illusions that one win over the whipping boys of the championship has put everything right.

His wish for further progress after the spirited 37-33 defeat by France in his first match in charge was granted as Wales won the forward battle, allowing the backs to run the ball from all angles. The no-nonsense Kiwi knows the next step will have to be immense to even come near to matching England at their fortress HQ.

"It was a big improvement again and I'm very happy with that but obviously there are still some areas we have to work on," he said. "But success breeds success and hopefully we can carry this on. If the performance is good enough to beat England, then great. But, whatever the outcome, the important thing is to improve our performance, and if we do that I will be pleased."

Wales had the fans singing again and the coach and his evolving team - three of the starting three-quarters had played just two previous Tests each - are dancing to the same tune.

"Steve is doing a great job, along with the other coaches, but it is going to take time," said replacement Rhys Williams, whose try of the match put the contest totally beyond Italy at the beginning of the second half.

Looking ahead he said: "We are going to take on the best team in the world and hopefully we will continue the progression."

His Cardiff team-mate, wing Craig Morgan who calmed any Welsh nerves with a 93-second opportunist try in his third international, admitted: "It could take time. I still have a lot of learning to do about running angles and things but I'm working with the coaches and my confidence is pretty high.